The Fading Rainbow
by LunaBlackmist
Summary: As Dorothy gets older, the memories of Oz are slowly dying from her memory. Her uncle Henry made sure she never spoke of Oz again. With no one left in the world to care about her, she sticks with Toto, and one particular farmhand.
1. Chapter 1

1: Punishment

They didn't want her to think of _that_ place again. After having to listen to their niece ramble on about the land of Oz day after day, their patience with her had finally run out. Dorothy's aunt, Emily Gale, was strong-willed and determined at heart. Although she had the look of a housewife, she also had the attitude of a sour apple. She pleaded that her niece would one day forget about the imaginary world in her head, but she thought there was no hope left. She thought that Dorothy had gone mentally insane as a result of her coma. She didn't know what else she could do for the girl, but one seemingly normal day on the farm changed all that. It was one of those days where the clouds were overcast, the wind was calm, and one could hear the multitudes of animals on the farm, awake and chipper. Dorothy was sound asleep in her room, with her dog, Toto, curled up at the end of her bed. His breathing was gentle, his short fur was still combed neatly from the previous night's grooming. Toto was a good dog, and never left Dorothy's side. He never bit her, and never did as much as repetitively bark at her. He knew about the land of Oz, he was there through all her experiences. He understood her Auntie Em's and Uncle Henry's reinforcement tactics. How he wished he could speak. How he wished he could tell them how wrong they are. It really made Toto's heart ache when he would see Dorothy cry. Toto needed to protect and love her, and he knew it when she buried her face in his fur and held him close to her chest. Dorothy finally woke up, and rubbed her eyes. She pulled away the curtain and of her window and looked out. 'Wow, what a wonderful day.' She thought to herself. If it was one thing, Dorothy never lost her innocent spirit, despite all that has happened to her. As she pulled her covers off, Toto stirred. He yawned, revealing his sharp teeth. He mangled his fur, ruining his grooming. "Toto, what are we going to do today?" he said nothing, of course, but barked happily in response. Dorothy thought that she and Toto should go and say hello to their new neighbors. It wasn't very often that she got to mingle with others; they either lived too far away or were only allowed to see her at school. It was the middle of summer, and she knew school was a month and a half away. This would seem to make her lonely, but she had her friends who worked on the farm to keep her company. There was Zeke, Hickory, and Hunk. Hunk was the youngest of the three, and the one Dorothy had taken a liking to; He reminded of her of the Scarecrow from Oz. He was the only one that believed her when she told her enticing stories about the mysterious land. Dorothy got dressed, picked up Toto, and went into the hallway. She saw her aunt cooking breakfast, the room smelled of crisp bacon and freshly-made pancakes. She walked slowly into the room, and her aunt turned and looked at her. "Good morning, Dorothy. Put Toto down and come have some breakfast." Dorothy obeyed, and lowered Toto gently to the floor. As she sat down and started to pick at her food, her uncle Henry walked through the door. "Morning, Em, morning, Dorothy." He called as he climbed up the stairs to his and Emily's room. Em called after him, "Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" she peered up the stairs. Dorothy looked at her, and said "What do you suppose uncle Henry is doing, auntie Em?" Emily's thoughts were interrupted when Dorothy asked her, and replied, "It's none of your concern, Dorothy. Just finish your meal." Dorothy sighed in response, and finished her meal. She never liked that answer. Maybe the reason was that it really was none of her business, and she should keep her nose where it belongs. Toto had eaten as well, and jumped onto her lap. Dorothy bent down to pet him, and auntie Em suddenly grabbed her coat, and grabbed her keys, and said, "Dorothy, I have to go pick up a few things at the market, uncle Henry and the farmhands are here. I'll be back." Dorothy nodded, and Em nodded back and walked out the door. She rose from her seat, Toto in her arms, and she ascended to her room. As she was walking to her room, she heard a strange noise. Toto barked, wanting out of her arms. She put him down, and said, "Whatever is that noise, Toto?" He started to sniff around, and picked up a scent near her room. He started to bark, and it had startled an uninvited guest in Dorothy's room. "Damn dog, getting me caught! Shoo, Toto!" Startled, Dorothy opened the room to her door, and jerked violently inside by her uncle Henry. She shrieked, and he slapped her across the face, pushing the door shut. "What is the meaning of that uncle-" she was cut off by another stinging slap across the face. "Shut up, you little harlot! I know why you've gone mentally retarded from that coma. You wanna sleep with that asshole, Hunk, don't you? You wanna be a whore? Here's the first thing you do!" He yelled, and ripped Dorothy's dress off. "AHHHH! Uncle Henry, why are you doing this?" she screamed, falling to the floor. He slapped her mouth again, making her sob. "I said, shut up, bitch! Can't you hear?" Pushing her to her bed, he ripped off her bra and underwear, exposing her premature privates. She tried to get up and cover herself, but he jumped on her and held down her arms and legs. "There is no such thing as OZ! Get it in your head! OZ is fake! OZ is sin!" He growled as he slammed himself into her, causing her to cry out in pain. "Please, don't do this! Don't do this to me!" He wouldn't stop. He kept pushing himself in harder, until she was bleeding. He squeezed her breasts, making them ache. He kept at it until she was sobbing uncontrollably. Once he climaxed, he pulled out of her, punched her in the gut, and slapped her face one last time. "If that doesn't make you forget your stupidness, I'll have to kill you." He said, and got dressed, slamming the door behind him. Dorothy was crying, from the physical pain she had just been through, from the love he had broken, from the memory of Oz slowly escaping from her mind. She held her knees to her chest, and cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

2. Comfort in Familiar Places

AN: I am back! Sorry it took me so terribly long to update. I got wrapped up in all sorts of things, but I am back, and you should be getting a few updates. Enjoy!

Dorothy knew better than to pretend there was never an Oz, to pretend she had never made the friends she did. Dorothy's physical purity might have been lost last night, but the purity that filled her heart was stronger than ever. She knew what her uncle Henry had done wasn't right. It wasn't what loving uncles did to their nieces. She also knew she could never tell Auntie Em.

Her only option at this point was to run away. She could suffer her ill fate at the hands of her uncle, she began to dress for the day. She put a few dresses in her suitcase, along with some ribbons for her hair and treats for Toto. She didn't forget her hairbrush or her deodorant, and placed those on top of her neatly folded clothes. Something suddenly dawned on her.

How would she clean up the blood on her bed? Would auntie Em be looking for her? What would uncle Henry say to her? So many questions filled the young girl's mind, but she knew she had no time to ponder them. She walked over to her window, and lifted the latches so that it would open. After getting it open just so she could fit, she picked up Toto.

This was it. She was leaving her aunt and uncle's house. She was leaving behind the one place that been her home for all these years, and leaving the life she had led up until now. In this moment, she wished it could be any other way. She knew it couldn't be.

At home, she was safe…or was she? Did a roof over her head mean so much to her? No, it didn't. Nothing mattered to Dorothy at that moment as long as she got away from her uncle. She first wanted to see Hunk. She knew exactly where to find him.

Dorothy made her way slowly out of the window and into her yard. She headed to the barn. She knew Hunk worked in the barn on Tuesdays. Making sure her uncle was out of sight, she ran to the doors of the barn. Inside, Hunk was raking the last of the hay for the horses.

"Hunk?" Dorothy called. He heard her small voice, and opened the barn doors. He was taken off his guard as she ran into his arms. "Uncle Henry hurt me, Hunk!" she started sobbing, soaking the front of his shirt with her tears. He quickly shut the doors, and said, "Dorothy, honey, what do you mean uncle Henry hurt you?" Dorothy gave herself the hiccups, tears running down her cheeks, but continued. "He made me bleed, he made me hurt, Hunk. Why would my uncle Henry do such a thing?" Hunk was about to ask what she meant by making her bleed, but he knew exactly what she was talking about.

He had seen the suitcase in her hand, and knew what she was planning on doing. Hunk could not bear the thought of Dorothy being on her own, and so decided out of the act of love to go with her. "Dorothy, let me come with you. You'll never make it out there alone." She looked into his eyes, her sobs slightly quieting. "B-but what if a-auntie em finds out or-or-or…that we ran away?" Hunk looked at Dorothy sympathetically.

Suddenly, he took her into his arms. Brushing a hair out of her face, he continued to speak gently. "We have to get out of here, just you, me and Toto. I personally don't give jack squat if your relatives see I'm missing. As long as you're safe, Dorothy. Me and Toto are all you have now, sweetheart."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I just realized I probably should have left out the intro in this story. It's been several months since I've worked with this story. Either way, here's chapter 3. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Hardships

Between the two of them, Hunk only had fifty cents. This was equal to a half day of work for him. Dorothy had a dollar bill in the pocket of her dress. Auntie Em gave her that dollar awhile back for helping out around the house for 5 days. They knew they would have to eat, and that no one would give, or even have, any extra money to give them. Poverty had stricken most of the nation around this time, everyone was struggling.

It definitely wasn't a good time to run away, but what could a young girl do after being molested? And her auntie Em just let it happen. Dorothy was sure that was the reason why she left, to make sure that she went to her room, and that Henry was there, hurting her. She never thought they would act so cruel. She thought they loved her. She thought wrong.

In his mind, Hunk recalled a conversation that Emily and Henry had. He had eavesdropped.

Dorothy was asleep in her room, oblivious to the adult conversation going on in the kitchen. "I'm tellin' ya, Em, Dorothy needs to stop this Oz nonsense. It's as if she was born and raised there, for heaven's sake!" Emily didn't want to believe there was anything wrong with Dorothy. She wanted to believe that she had a very vivid dream that she would not stop talking about. Henry continued ranting. "If this keeps up, we're gonna have to have her placed in a mental institute, at least until she stops all this." Hunk overheard their conversation, and crept over to the window, dropping his shovel. He lowered his body so he wouldn't be caught, and continued to listen.

"Henry, don't you think it would be a little harsh sending Dorothy to a place like that? She'll feel like we abandoned her." Emily's words hadn't much more power than a fish protesting dry land. Henry could easily dominate her into doing anything, even though she didn't want to admit it.

"People would put up with her there. Hell, they would probably tell her it's okay to carry on her Oz fantasies. In this house, no one is going to ever convince me that Oz is real!" Henry exclaimed, feeling like the man of the house that he was. Emily didn't respond, and got back to washing the dishes.

"Hunk?" Dorothy shook his shoulder lightly, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay?" Hunk gave her a sincere smile. "Yes, Dorothy. I am fine. If, by some chance, we happen to come across a convenience store, I'll find you a chocolate bar." Dorothy's eyes lit up. She never had chocolate very often, auntie Em was never able to afford it. Nonetheless, she never turned down an offer for chocolate.

Toto stopped on the side of the dirt road to relieve himself. It was pure luck that Hunk was there, and willing to help them run away. He jumped back into Dorothy's arms, eager to know where they were headed to. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way for Dorothy to return to Oz, but he didn't keep his hopes up.

"So, Dorothy, tell me more about Oz. What are the people there like? How much do you reckon it'd cost to live there?" he playfully bumped her elbow. Dorothy smiled, and began to tell him about the different creatures she had met, she told him about the Good Witch of the North. Once she started talking about the Scarecrow, he became even more interested. The personality of Scarecrow fit his personality to a T. She talked as if she wasn't hurt, as if she wasn't on the brink of tears, as if none of the events in the past twenty-four hours ever took place.

They weren't sure where they would end up, or how they would get there, but they all knew one thing: The further they got away from Henry, the better off they would all be. The emotional wounds that Dorothy bears would be a difficult ordeal, for both her and him, to overcome. He knew what it was like to be raped, his own father had done it to him when he was younger than Dorothy. Toto suddenly barked, and leapt out of Dorothy's arms. He ran a little further up, as if knowing where to take them.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is probably going to be my last update for awhile. Sorry that this one is shorter. Enjoy!

After trekking through several piles of weeds, a few bothersome dirt devils, and sudden gusts of wind, Dorothy, Toto and Hunk came up to a small convenience store. "Let's get you that chocolate," Hunk patted Dorothy's shoulder, and went to grab a chocolate bar.

She scooped Toto into her arms, running her fingers through his fur. "We got away, Toto. We got away." She smiled, remembering the day the wicked witch of the west had taken him away from her. That was also the day she discovered- no. Oz was only a dream, she kept telling herself, even though she knew in her heart that it was real.

"Here's your chocolate, Dorothy." Hunk came back, shaking Dorothy from her thoughts. "Why, thank you. If I didn't get something in my belly soon, I would've starved." She talked through a savory bite of chocolate. Hunk smiled. All he cared about was that she was nourished.

He knew that what happened to her must have been traumatizing. He didn't want to bring it up so soon, he would wait until she was feeling better. Would she ever feel better?

"Henry, have you seen Dorothy anywhere? She wasn't in her room." He grunted at Emily's concern for their niece, the niece he had raped yesterday evening. He would never let her know what he did, unless he wanted to pay for a divorce.

She walked across the table, and smacked him on the forehead. "Dorothy is lost! Help me find her!" Her face was reddening. He didn't seem to even care. He shot her a dark look. "No one raises their hand to me, not even you Em!" He backhanded her face, and she stumbled to the ground. "Henry...how could you?" She put her hand up to her face. There was blood. It was only a nosebleed.

He walked out of the house. If he didn't, he would've hurt her more. He sees someone running towards him. On guard, he raised his fists, and called out, "You didn't see a thing!" But as the figure got closer, he recognized it as Hickory. "Henry, we can't find hunk. We haven't seen h since early this morning." Henry's brow furrowed. No farmhand of his was going to escape from their duties.

As the night grew, Dorothy, Hunk, and Toto were getting farther away. Henry was in pursuit of Hunk. Emily was searching for Dorothy. Only the power of Dorothy's imagination can keep them safe from her relatives. Hunk knew that Dorothy was way younger than him, but he couldn't help growing closer to her each moment they spent together. Toto had even caught on, but he wagged his tail and made his bed in Dorothy's lap.


End file.
